Methodist church in Quincy assesses vandalism damage

QUINCY – Quincy police have no new leads on who vandalized a Wollaston church Wednesday.

Seven windows were smashed with rocks early Wednesday morning at Quincy Community United Methodist Church on Beale Street. The church gymnasium was also ransacked.

“We have no idea yet of the cost to repair it all,” said the Rev. Susan Jarek-Glidden, who has been the pastor there for a decade.

Vandalism at the Wollaston church happened about a week after another Quincy church 2 miles away experienced a break-in.

Christ Church Quincy, at 12 Quincy Ave., was broken into on July 22 or 23 between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., said Frederick Dosenberg, a church board member who oversees property issues.

Dosenberg said an interior door window was smashed with a fire extinguisher, and someone rifled through a desk drawer. But nothing was stolen.

Dosenberg said Quincy police lifted fingerprints off the fire extinguisher but haven’t gotten the results yet from a crime lab.

Quincy police could not be reached Thursday for comment about the other church break-in, but Dosenberg doesn’t believe the two crimes are connected.

Back in Wollaston, Jarek-Glidden said she would use the vandalism incident as part of the Sunday service.

“I am not doing a formal sermon, but I wanted to tell parishioners this is what happened,” she said. “I went around taking photographs, and I will take questions.”

On Wednesday, Jarek-Glidden surveyed all the damage and broken glass strewn over pews. She said the incident was horrible but could have been worse.

“Nobody got hurt,” she said. “They could have set fires, and they could have trashed the sanctuary.”

Nothing was stolen from the church, said Jarek-Glidden.

Vandals used a heavy cobblestone and smaller stones, taken from a pet memorial in the church’s front yard, to smash in the metal framed glass panes, she said.

The second-floor gym, which doubles as a center for youth groups, was also targeted. Couches and tables were upended on the basketball court. Broken glass from a wall clock littered the wood floor, and board games and their tiny pieces were flung about the gym.

Chris Burrell may be reached at cburrell@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @Burrell_Ledger.